Shaking Up Those Holiday Traditions

Most people who have known me for a really long time realize that at heart I’ve always been a really serious traditionalist. Don’t get that mixed up with conservative (which I’m not)–but the sentimental type of traditionalist.

As a native of America’s Heartland, I was pretty much raised that way. Holidays and the changing seasons dictated a specific pattern to daily life: meals, decorations, shopping patterns, clothing, cleaning (spring, fall, post-holiday, etc). Most people raised in the Midwest before the 1990s probably understand what I’m saying here. There were just Traditions & Customs. And we Followed them.

As an adult, one of the first things I think I shook up in my life was food (well, really it was the cleaning–I’ve spring cleaned. I don’t think I’ve ever fall cleaned. In fact, I hate cleaning to an extent that my mother wonders where she went wrong). But after the cleaning, came the cooking.

My mom is a terrific cook–as was her mother. I must just genetically love food and cooking, from creating sauces and changing up long-standing family recipes to trying new recipes. But when it comes to holidays, I’ve been a traditionalist. I’ve added something here or there to this or that, but if my grandparents walked in on our Thanksgiving meal, they would certainly recognize some standard dishes:

Turkey (although unstuffed and fixed with my super-secret herb rub)
Cranberry Sauce (mine again)
Mom’s Apple & Onion Stuffing
Mom’s Mashed Potato Casserole
Gravy
Rolls
The Relish Tray
Pumpkin Pie

This Thanksgiving, I’m shaking up some traditions. For instance, I’m skipping the corn dish. Instead, I found a great yellow squash casserole recipe that I tried last night when we had friends over. I’m also considering swapping out the pumpkin pie in favor of the Sweet Potato Pie. I made it long before kids came around. It’s secret is in the bourbon. I usually make a roasted root vegetable dish with sweet potatoes, rutabagas and parsnips. But this year, I’m making a recipe from Whole Living (if I can find my copy) that features roasted brussel sprouts and beets.

Black Box Wine

Finally, when it comes to wine, we are all used to the traditional wine bottles. But I took part in a BzzAgent.com word-of-mouth product campaign. I received coupons and promo information for Black Box wine in exchange for trying it and introducing it to friends and families.

Yep, Boxed Wine. But Black Box is not the swill of the 1980s college party days. We tried the Chardonnay and the Malbec. The Malbec was my favorite. Breaking with traditional bottles, we’ll have it around for some entertaining this coming holiday season.

The Jr Viking Carpool

I’m in the middle of writing a blog that is turning out to be a rather long-winded epistle. This isn’t it. This is the “good grief, I haven’t written on my blog for a month” post. But it should be a good one because it involves the boys’ football carpool.

If you were one of those who used to read me on my old blog, you may remember that I mentioned the Jr. Viking football carpool here and there. This year’s carpool is the same plus two. Five families in all, all 5th & 6th grade boys. Carpooling with boys is, frankly, so much more entertaining and light hearted than carpooling with girls. No drama, no high pitched shrieky laughter, no backstabbing . . .

I think last year I highlighted our adventures with the radio (classic rock) and the saga of Bacon Man. Last week, one of our topics turned into God’s burrito (“put some ambrosia on it and He’s good to go!”), which led to a great name for a restaurant Ambrosia Burritos, Ambrosia Mexican and/or Ambrosia Gyros (don’t bother–I’ve already ®’d them). “If God could eat any food in the world, I think he’d eat a burrito.” “But would God know how to make one?” “Of course, he’s GOD” . . . which led to the ambrosia statement.

Tonight’s topic coming home: car sickness, vomit & marshmellows in the back seat [I said light-hearted. I didn't claim it wasn't gross]. The concept of bent light and reality in the front (between me & Mr. Pete).  But the best statement tonight came after we’d dropped off the last football player. Pete, Sam and I were rounding the corner for home. As Pete put it: “We turn on . . . Tripp” as he makes a tripping gestures. For 13 years, we’ve lived in this neighborhood. I’ve never connected Tripp Street to tripping. I don’t know if I’ll ever not think of tripping again.

So, that’s the update from the land of little Vikings. Tomorrow morning, Kate becomes a full-fledged Viking as she starts official cross country practice as a high school freshman! I doubt those girls talk about Bacon Man. And I know there won’t be a carpool. The daughter wants a public bus pass (it’s not cool to take the free school bus).

 

Flamous — Go Check It Out!

I have just eaten the most nutritious, earth friendly mass-produced chip in existence, Ithink.  It’s called the Spicy Falafel chip by Flamous Brands. Tastes like a falaffel but looks like a chip. Non-GMO, totally organic, completely kosher (for Passover) and Hallel and endorsed by a bunch of happy family-friendly places. The only downer: it’s out of Pasadena, CA and not Chicago. Oh, well. It has an amazing taste and is only 107 cal. per 10 chips!

Check it out at:

http://www.flamousbrands.com/

(I am in NO WAY being reimbursed or sponsored by this post. The chips are just that good!)

Yum!

Doggy Bifocals

David and I have been together for so long that we are actually on our second generation of pets.

Back in the day, there was Harvey, the coolest cat ever, and his best friend Lucy, our devoted Old English Sheepdog. Somewhere along the line came Clara, the scarediest scaredy cat ever, and Hamlet–aged, toothless & arthritic.

Lucy passed at a grand 13 years (91 in dog years), leaving a void that has partly been filled by Maggie of the Mounties (Pyrenee Mountains, that is). We brought Miss Maggie home at 7 weeks of age, the size of a miniature poodle, and now, suddenly, she is nearly 9.

Harvey passed at a young 9, but Hamlet and Clara lived to 15 years each (whether Clara’s was a full life, well lived is up for debate). Now, we have Sally and Deano (and we can’t forget the tiny life of little Harry, who died while being neutered). Sally loves her boys, Sam & Pete, her daddy David (who feeds her even when her bowls are full), and, well, all men. (If she weren’t neutered, we’d have to call her “slut kitty”). Deano loves us all . He’s an equal opportunity love cat!

Watching Maggie grow (and grow and grow) to her almight 125 lbs and equally large personality has been a gift. Not all families (or cats) can handle a Great Pyr. But our hearts and the courage of our cats have allowed us to enjoy the majesty and hilarity that is our Mags. Now a rapidly aging 8-1/2 year old (nearly 72 in doggy years), it occurred to me tonight that perhaps she needs reading glasses.

Yes, she can see the birds (whom she hates for dive bombing her) and the rabbitts (which she loves to eat). She can see the Milk Bone coming. But up close, she seems to lose site of the bone. Reading glasses! Yes, that is indeed what she needs! And perhaps a double hip replacement.

Still, we rejoice at the smiles and laughs she gives us each day, the demand for big belly rubs and the delight in each unseen Milk Bone. A hot dog in the summer; a snow bunny in the winter!

Waking Up with Bowie

We got tickets for Paul McCartney playing Wrigley Field! Yes, it is for the 5 of us–and for half the price of a summer vacation–but we’re all (all 5 of us) totally excited! It’ll be David and my first time seeing Paul live, and that got me to thinking about our fav concerts.

Our favorites have been the Rolling Stones . But we’ve been a David Bowie fans since at least middle school. The best concert we saw was a Rosemont Theatre small venue show (somewhere around 2003 or so). We were in the first row of the first balcony. I screamed like a school girl when he kicked off with “Rebel Rebel” and then “Starman.” Seriously — I thought my knees would buckle.

So, here are some of my faves:

1) Life on Mars (Hunky Dory)
2) Starman (Ziggy Stardust)
3) Rebel Rebel (Diamond Dogs)
4) Suffragette City (Ziggy)
5) Rock n Roll Suicide (Ziggy)
6) Five Years (Ziggy)
7) Soul Love (Ziggy)
8) Under Pressure (with Queen)
9) Diamond Dogs (Diamond Dogs)
10) Heroes (Heroes)
11) Modern Love (Let’s Dance)
12) Let’s Dance  (Let’s Dance)

David has other ideas–but let him tell his favs to you!

 

Neighbors, Have I Got Neighbors

I’ve been reflecting quite a bit over the past week or so about the concept of Neighbors and what a unique relationship neighbors have with each other.

Neighbors aren’t family. And unlike friends, we don’t actually choose our neighbors. We choose the home, apartment or condo and, often, specifically select the neighborhood in which it is located. But neighbors . . . Well, that’s a crap shoot. They can turn out terribly or end up being almost like family.

When your neighbors do the moving, you worry about who or what could be moving in. Will they grow tomatoes in their front yard and tear down the trees? Or will they have great kids and like the same beer you do?

If you love your current neighbors, you also worry that you will lose touch when they move because that is a risk in the odd neighbor-neighbor relationship. Often, despite sharing tools and snow shovels, backyard BBQs, birthdays, baby showers and other major milestones, all we really might have in common with the people next door or across the street, when it’s all boiled down, are our houses and our other neighbors.

Sometimes, though, the memories, of snow storms and gardens, sickness and health, BBQs and weddings, are enough to form a permanent bond, even after, at long last, someone moves away.

My folks were never the ones to move away. Since 1966, my parents (and since Dad died in 2002, just my mom) have lived in the same house. Neighbor turnover has always been slow (is it because my folks were just that great to live next to?), but over the last 45 years, they experienced a couple of douzies. There was the “white trash” divorcee who bathed in her bikini in the front yard and let chipmunks move into a junked car up on blocks. I can tell you that words like “property value” and “taller fence” flew around during those years. But finally she and her assortment of children and boyfriends moved and in came a nice, new family who fixed up the house and had Dad over for hamburgers when Mom came up to visit us.

Across the street was a couple who built their house in ’64. They were at my baptism and my brother’s baptism, at our first birthday parties and our confirmations. My folks were there for them through crises and their losses. They were there for my folks when they lost their parents, and there for us when we lost Dad.  Their daughter baby-sat us, and I was the flower girl in her wedding. We went to their family parties (where I became famous, or infamous, for declaring that “green beans make ya sick”)–and they came to ours.

Our cat spied on her in the mornings through her window. But even though she didn’t like cats, sometimes they would bring us doughnuts on the way home from church (we shared the same church), leaving them on our doorstep as a surprise. I watered their plants and brought in their mail when they went on vacation, one of my very first jobs.

They did up Christmas decorations bigger than any family I can remember, with homemade ornaments, a light-up village they made in ceramics and the most beautifully wrapped presents ever. I have her recipes for everything from Christmas cookie dough and icing to Rush Mush, a frozen orange-bourbon slushy that will rock your summer drink world.

They also were a first-alert system for my parents, letting my mom know when I snuck a “friend” over while she was gone. [Now that I'm a parent, I hope our neighbors will be so good as to return the favor.] When I became the bride, they threw a shower for me. And they were there for our first child’s christening.

Even though they moved away a few years ago, the house will always be theirs in my mind. They had us over to see their new place, which they also built. And that was the last time I saw them, although we are friends on Facebook. My mom has stayed in touch, but memories always include my father. Mom saw them a few months ago at lunch and reported that the Mrs. didn’t look good. A couple of weeks ago, the daughter called to let my Mom know that her mom had only a few months to live. She passed this morning.

Neighbors, neighbors, neighbors
Have I got neighbors?
Have I got neighbors?
All day and all night*

And memories to last a lifetime.

(*credit: Neighbors, Rolling Stones)

Google Chrome Apps, Clouds & Iowa

Odd title, right? It’ll make sense soon, I promise.

Let me start right away saying that I am not being paid by Google or any app/website to write this blog. This is purely a fan letter to Google Chrome Web Store and cloud apps/storage in general.

I work off of 1) a laptop so I can be with my family in the evenings; 2) a powerful desktop with a huge monitor for my big design applications; and, 3) like everyone else, my phone. Google Chrome and its support of free cloud-based apps and storage is making my professional and personal life so much easier to manage.

My favorite app by far is Dropbox, which is basically free cloud storage for files of all kinds. Up to 2 gigs free! If you need more, you can upgrade to a paid account. You simply install Dropbox on your computers/phones, create an account at dropbox.com, and voila, you can access your synched files from your devices as well as from, say, a client’s computer via your dropbox.com account. I use this application all the time and store frequently accessed files, like timesheets and budgets, in my dropbox on a permanent basis.

My next favorite app is Read Later Fast. I do a lot of surfing around for design inspiration, solutions to web development quandaries, recipes, garden ideas, solutions to pre-teen angst and accompanying parental stress. You know, work and life. Read Later eliminates having to create bookmarks for all of those interesting sites that you like, don’t want to lose but don’t want to go through the trouble of bookmarking. Just right click, select Read Later and the page’s address is stored in a list in the app. Access Read Later through your Google Chrome page to find a list of your saved sites waiting for you.

Of course, Chrome’s App Store offers a huge variety of free games to keep yourself and your kids amused. And it has some fun apps that make monotonous chores a bit more fun, including Todo.ly, which is helping me organize all my to-do professional and person to-do / to-buy lists.

BeFunky Kate

For the artist in you, the quick and easy graphic design apps offer Photoshop-esque effects quickly (and for free) and easily. My current favorite is Be Funky, which allows you to do create fun effects for photos to display at, for instance, your daughter’s 8th grade graduation party.

So, the love letter part of my blog is over. Now comes the “WTF” portion. This morning, as the Tribune headline declares “Romney tires to woo hard-to-get Iowa voters,” I’m sitting here with my coffee thinking: What’s so dang special about Iowa? And why should they get to cull the field of politicians for the rest of the country?

I have some rather opinionated opinions about–and solutions for–Federal and State government. But one of my most opinionated opinions is in regard to campaigns. No one state should ever be able to influence the ultimate outcome of an election. We really need national primaries, shortened election seasons (primary the Tuesday after Labor Day) and severe campaign funding limits. Moderate, middle class citizens should be able to afford to run for office.

With today’s technology, there is no need for presidential candidates to traipse around the country spending money. Few people ever get to really meet these candidates or shake their hand (unless, of course, they are offering the candidates campaign money). The bulk of all campaigns (including state and local elections) can be carried out online, through video on Hulu and YouTube, Facebook, live streaming off websites and, of course, through e-mail. All state, local and national candidates could also receive a one-time allotment of free TV air time (but no TV ads) via PBS, after the primaries. Each presidential candidate would receive 30 minutes of air time, US Senate & Congressional candidates would receive 10 minutes, and every one else receiving 5 minutes through their local PBS affiliate.

I also agree with a friend who recently said that we have too many congressmen. Another part of my grand election plan is to force an amendment increasing the ratio of citizens to congressional rep. This “lay off” in the House would not only streamline the governmental process but also help cut the U.S. budget through reduction of related expenses of those reps’ office space, staffers, supplies, etc.

In the meantime, maybe Google Chrome developers will come up with an app that solves the Iowa issue, perhaps even storing Iowa in a cloud server during election season.

On Writing

Like many people, I accidently stumbled on my career. No one really sets out with a determination to be a marketing professional and web developer. [Can you imagine, 25 years ago, telling your friends that you want to be a web designer? The only webs that existed 25 years ago were spider webs.]

Early in life, I had two different career aspirations. In middle school, I wanted to be a lawyer. In high school I was fervently determined to be a newspaper journalist. The only goal realized was going to Northwestern, where I susequently moved from the hallowed Medill School of Journalism to the College of Arts & Sciences to become a philosophy major. After graduation, I was spit out into the real world with a B.A. and not a clue.

I like what I do for a living, and strangely enough, I enjoy a blend of my two childhood ambitions. I seem to specialize in law firm marketing, and I write most of my clients’ materials. It takes an absurd amount of time to be self-employed, but I like it, ususally. The chase of the sale, the exhilaration of closing a deal and the thrill of starting a new project–that’s what keeps me going. The writing is there, too: web content, newsletter articles, reports. But I view it as copywriting. I’m good–but at times it can be monotonous and almost rote.

Now at 40, what I want to do when I grow up is to be a history professor. Since I have the wrong degrees, I am contenting myself  by focusing on weekend writing. While my husband creates and records his music, I have become busy with writing. Not fiction (I’m lousy at diaglogue–it always sounds fake and forced) but history, biography, and other non-fiction.

The former publishing marketer in me tends to influence what I write: “Look for unpublished. Find a niche. What hasn’t been said?” My current obsession is James Buchanan, our 15th and only bachelor president, under whom the pre-Civil War tensions finally blew the top off the Union, and his niece Harriet Lane Johnston, who became the first First Lady with influence, more than a 100 years before Jackie O.

Harriet Lane, President Buchanan's niece & First Lady

The following is my first mini-bio of Harriet. At some point, I plan to enlarge it into a 134 or 164-page paperback, and possibly continue on to create a series of other books on strong women who were early influencers in different areas of society or their professions.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Harriet-Lane-The-Original-First-Lady-of-the-US

If I develop a sound proposal, some small publisher might pick it up (with that book marketing background, I’d be one of those authors when it came to promoting my title). If not picked up, at least the manuscript can live forever on the web.

Mother’s Day: What Mom (at least this one) Really Wants

For the past couple of weeks, we’ve been bombarded by ads online, on the radio and on TV that are trying to sell us gifts to give to our mothers for Mother’s Day. Everything from flowers, candy and perfume to high-end spices and herbs, grills and jewelery has been hawked as “the” gift for mom.

What do moms really want for Mother’s Day? Beats me. We’re all very different women–not just the same generic “Mom.” What I want (nothing but peace, love, sleep and 2 Boston creme donuts, really) could be very different from what another Mom wants. And that’s OK. Like our birthdays and other gift-giving holidays, we are all very different women with different styles, tastes, wants and needs.

Unfortunately, I seem to cause quite the problem for my family. My birthday is in the middle of April, and I guess I’m not the easiest person to buy for. Once David and the kids solve the birthday dilemma, whammo! they get hit with Mother’s Day. I’m not the homemade gift kind of mom, which is probably some awful personality flaw. After all these years, and all those nursery school and early elementary school projects, I admit this hesitantly and guiltily.

Of course, while I dread those crafty Mother’s Day projects that come home from school, there are two crafts that dads of pre-school children should consider doing: the first is a “bouquet” made from colored construction paper cut outs of the kids’ hands, pasted or taped onto long popsicle sticks or straws. Priceless! The other project involved combining cement and handprints to create cute garden stepping stones. Both projects were a great deal of work, and I appreciate and treasure them. One year, Sam brought home a letter from school about what he liked about me. I was touched the most by his footnote, ad libbed below what they must have copied from the chalkboard: “I love you because you feed me.”

As the World Spins Round & Round

It was only just last Friday that countless Americans woke up at insane hours of the morning to watch a royal wedding. “Birthers” were still trying to deny Obama’s long-form birth certificate. And Seth Meyers (along with Obama) destroyed Trump at the White House Press dinner. In fact, Meyers told one of the very last bin Laden (living version) jokes ever. Closer to home, our freezer was dead, and the refrigerator itself wasn’t far behind.

Then suddenly, the world spun round and round.

In just one day, Bin Laden was dead (but not the jokes). “Birthers” traded in for a new moniker: “deathers.” Refrigerator/freezer: new one on order, along with a dishwasher and a wad of debt. And Trump? I think his campaign (or at least his chances) faded out with the last of the press corp’s centerpieces. The royal wedding: totally and completely passé.

On the world’s playing field, the game is not just afoot but moving quickly. I like the point Jon Stewart made on the Daily Show on Monday evening. Bin Laden has been the face of what was. Now, he’s outta here–and the kids in Egypt are the new faces of not just the Mideast but change in general.

Here at home, in our own homes, positive change usually comes slower and on much smaller scales. But this week, at least I can say that overnight my food is once again refrigerated and my dishes are getting clean. Continued, positive personal change does not come without a clean morning coffee mug.